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Financial Instruments - Fair Value of Derivative Instruments (Details) € in Millions, kr in Millions, SFr in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2020 EUR (€)	Sep. 30, 2020 CHF (SFr)	Sep. 30, 2020 DKK (kr)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2019 CHF (SFr)	Dec. 31, 2019 DKK (kr)
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Unrecognized net gains/(losses) on cross-currency interest rate swap contracts, recorded, net of tax			$ (27)	$ 28
Other noncurrent liabilities	$ 283		283					$ 229
Other current liabilities	67		67					55
Other noncurrent assets	94		94					98
Total derivatives	(7)		(7)					25
Collateral received	16		16
Cash flow hedges gain expected to be reclassified from AOCI into earnings over the next 12 months			1
Foreign currency forward-exchange contracts \| Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Foreign currency forward-exchange contracts	0	$ 1	10	5
Derivative notional amount	1,706		1,706					1,364
Total derivatives	(6)		(6)					2
Foreign currency forward-exchange contracts \| Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments \| Other current assets
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Derivative assets	8		8					7
Foreign currency forward-exchange contracts \| Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments \| Other current liabilities
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Derivative liabilities	(14)		(14)					(5)
Cross-currency interest rate swap contracts
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Derivative notional amount	150		150		€ 650	SFr 25	kr 600	150	€ 650	SFr 25	kr 600
Cross-currency interest rate swap contracts \| Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments:
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Unrecognized net gains/(losses) on cross-currency interest rate swap contracts, recorded, net of tax	(30)	23	(27)	28
Gain (Loss) on Components Excluded from Assessment of Interest Rate Fair Value Hedge Effectiveness	4	5	14	13
Total derivatives	(1)		(1)					23
Cross-currency interest rate swap contracts \| Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments: \| Other current assets
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Total derivatives	8		8					4
Cross-currency interest rate swap contracts \| Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments: \| Other current liabilities
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Total derivatives	(11)		(11)					(3)
Cross-currency interest rate swap contracts \| Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments: \| Other noncurrent assets
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Total derivatives	15		15					20
zts_FixedtoFloatInterestRateSwap \| Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments: \| Other noncurrent assets
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Derivative assets	13		13					0
zts_FixedtoFloatInterestRateSwap \| Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments: \| Other Noncurrent Liabilities
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Derivative assets	0		0					(2)
zts_ForwardStartingInterestRateSwap \| Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments:
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Unrecognized net gains/(losses) on cross-currency interest rate swap contracts, recorded, net of tax	5	$ (4)	(22)	$ (4)
zts_ForwardStartingInterestRateSwap \| Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments: \| Other noncurrent assets
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Derivative assets	2		2					5
zts_ForwardStartingInterestRateSwap \| Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments: \| Other Noncurrent Liabilities
Derivatives, Fair Value [Line Items]
Derivative assets	$ (28)		$ (28)					$ (1)